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The differences in drug and alcohol prohibition provide as much insight as the similarities. During alcohol prohibition, Americans were able to see prohibition off, on, then off again. Problems created by prohibition were clear and severe. Americans responded with a constitutional amendment, no easy task, to repeal prohibition.

Drug prohibition, by contrast, was very gradual. It focused initially on Chinese immigrant use of opium in the early 1900's. After alcohol prohibition was repealed in 1933, law enforcement looking for more work added marijuana, which focused on Latinos, to the list in 1937. President Nixon further ramped up the war on drugs around 1970 and fear mongering politicians prevented Americans from even imagining an end to drug prohibition.

The U.S. was also not a superpower during alcohol prohibition, so our alcohol prohibitionist policies did not create the same problems that drug prohibition has created worldwide. Our superpower status has allowed drug prohibition to feed money to cooperative corrupt foreign parties, has enriched drug cartels, instigated and empowered terrorists worldwide.